Sure Fire Winners
by Chance13
Summary: He sees him on the station. Al is warned to stay away from Scorpius. Does he? Of course not. My take on the NextGen, starting where the epilogue left of, with some characters of my own. Friendship/Romance & Family. 1st year onwards, romance later on.
1. 19 Years Later

**AN: I know I'm only four chapters into 'Aftermath' but I wanted to write something apart from Romance/Angst (though that will probably come later here as well). Thought I might have a bit of fun with the Next Gen characters - it's basically pure fluff; there isn't a sirius plot unlike Aftermath.**

**I'm re-uploading this because Bicky Monster has been absolutely amazing and beta-ed all the chapters – thank you! I made some really minor changes to what the sorting hat said; just implying that James is more of a mischief maker than Al.**

**Disclaimer- No, I don't own the HP series, as amazing as that would be. All dialogue until they get on the train is taken directly from Deathly Hallows, but from my take on Al's PoV.**

**Enjoy.**

Sure Fire Winners

Chapter 1- 19 Years Later

Al stood next to his father as the two walked towards the stone pillar in between platforms nine and ten. Around them groups shouted, tannoy systems spoke, people hurried past them to catch their train. Nobody gave the pair a second glance. They continued walking and Al screwed up his eyes slightly just before they reached the pillar. He had seen James walk through it mere seconds before, so he knew it could be done. But still, it was a _stone pillar_.

Before he had the chance to change his mind they were through, being swiftly followed by Lily and their mum. He looked around, everything was so similar to the other side of the division, but so different at the same time. People were still calling to each other, hurrying about their business, the conductor attempting to be heard above the noise. But the conductor was using a Sonorous charm to be heard, people were wearing robes, carrying wands and all manner of pets. The biggest difference was the lack of sleek, fast electric trains, replaced by the giant, red steam engine with 'Hogwarts Express' written across the front in large black letters.

Al searched the mass of faces, searching for a familiar few.

He turned to Ginny, "Where are they?"

Ginny gave him a quick reassurance before he continued his search, glad to remain unnoticed by his Uncle Percy who was talking to his father about broomstick regulations, or something equally as boring. His mother placed a hand on his shoulder, pointing trough the steam from the train.

"I think that's them, Al"

Sure enough, four people emerged from the steam and the two groups met. As Harry, Ginny, his Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione began talking about driving tests and Confudus charms, Al turned to his cousins.

Rose was grinning from ear to ear, already dressed in her robes, plain black with the Hogwarts crest in place of one with the house colours. Before they could begin any sort of real conversation, or James could start going on about being sorted into Slytherin _again_, Ron turned to Rose.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you, but no pressure,"

As his wife scolded him Lily and Hugo started laughing, but Rose and Al remained solemn, sharing a glance. Both were worried already about which house they were to be sorted into and this wasn't helping. Hermione turned to reassuring Rose, who started to look worried, but their fathers were no longer paying attention, talking about a family of three down the platform.

"So that's little Scorpius," turning back to Rose he continued, "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank god you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake, don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

At this Al and Rose looked over at the blond boy –'Scorpius'. He resembled his father with a pale complexion, shockingly light hair and stern expression. Al, however, fancied that he could see a playful glint in his grey eyes, guessing that this look was just a front for his father.

As he finished his analysis of the other boy, James ran over to their group, looking so excited he could burst. "Teddy's back there," he panted out after his slaloming around the masses of people, "Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? _Snogging Victoire!_" His face lost some of the excitement at the lack of reaction from the four adults "_Our_ Teddy! _Teddy Lupin_! Snogging _our_ Victoire! _Our_ cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"

At this their mother cut in "You interrupted them? You are _so_ like Ron-" James ignored Ginny and continued his story to the other four children who were listening with rapt attention

"-and he said he'd come to see her off! And he told me to go away. He's _snogging_ her!" At the end of the story Lily began talking about how great it would be if they got married, which took them to how much time Teddy spent at their's, finally bringing them onto their bedrooms. Harry glanced at his watch, his eyes widening in surprise.

"It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."

Ginny bent down to hug his brother, "Don't forget to give Neville our love!"

"Mum! I can't give a Professor _love_!"

"But you _know_ Neville-" James rolled his eyes and in his head Al agreed. He hadn't even gotten to school yet but he already knew that you couldn't walk into a classroom and give love to a professor.

"Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him _love_…"

With this they said their goodbyes and Rose jumped onto the train with James, but not before he could pretend to kick Al and warn him about the Thestrals.

Al took his chance, turning to his father as he hugged him, voicing his fears.

"What if I'm in Slytherin?" He whispered the question, not wanting anyway to think him such an idiot. Harry crouched down to his level and the bright green eyes met.

"Albus Severus, you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was the bravest man I ever knew."

Al still wasn't totally convinced by his argument, "But _just say_-"

"-Then Slytherin house will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The sorting hat takes your choice into account."

This was news to Al; he had never imagined being able to _choose_ your house, "Really?"

"It did for me."

This made Al's mind reel. His father, Harry Potter, the Chosen One, the man who had defeated _Voldemort_, had almost been in Slytherin. Suddenly being a Slytherin didn't seem like such a bad option. Maybe it really didn't matter which house he was in; he'd still have his family, still have his friends. It wouldn't make any difference.

"Why are they all staring?" he asked as he noticed the crowds of people trying to watch without being noticed.

Instead of his father, his Uncle Ron answered, "Don't let it worry you. It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Still laughing Al dashed to the train as the four parents blew kisses to the children hanging out the window, shouting reminders to them, to write, not to get into fights, not to pull pranks- the last directed more towards James than Rose or Al.

The train pulled away from the station, and Hugo and Lily ran along the station, waving to the three friends, unknowingly mimicking Ginny on Harry, Ron and Hermione's first day.

James nodded goodbye to the other two, wandering off down the train looking for his friends, probably too cool to be seen hanging out with a couple of first years, especially his little brother and cousin.

Deciding not to embarrass him more than absolutely necessary Al and Rose walked in the opposite direction, trying to find seats. They were half way through the second carriage before they found any space.

Opening the door they saw the compartment had four other first years in it. Two boys were sitting opposite each other leaning in to talk, a girl laughing at their conversation, while a third boy stared quietly out the window. The two boys had a certain air around them, drawing you to them; one was slightly tanned with messy sandy coloured hair, while the other was equally tanned but his hair was longer, the dirty blond strands tied into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck. The third boy seemed to blend into the background in comparison to the two; he was pale, as if painted by watercolours, even his plain brown hair seemed to have faded.

Al caught a look at his eyes as the passed over the two new comers and they were the darkest blue he had ever seen, like two small lakes. The girl however was the most striking; she had dark tanned skin and long raven black hair that reached down to her waist, done up in tight braids, bright threads plaited through them and coloured beads hanging on the ends.

Rose, the more forward of the two, decided to speak first once the four were watching them.

"Hi, I'm Rose and this," she gestured to Al who was standing slightly behind her, "is Al. There's not many seats left, do you mid if we sit here?"

Two of the boys exchanged looks, as if they were about to confer on it, but the girl just stood up, beaming at Rose.

"Sure, that'd be great," she stuck out her hand to Rose, "I'm Saundarya. Saundarya Das. Most people just call me Arya."

Rose accepted the hand and returned the smile, "Nice to meet you. I'm Rose Weasley and this is Albus Potter."

"Just Al, no one calls me Albus," the small boy murmured, also taking the handshake.

At the mention of his last name the boy in the corner, who until now had only given them a brief glance, looked up sharply.

"Potter? As in _Harry_ Potter?"

Rose continued to beam but Al just blushed slightly and nodded his head. "Yeah, he's my dad."

At this revelation the other two ceased their whispered conversation, also starting to smile. The slightly blonder one reached out his hand for Al's. "Your dad is so cool. Ours would tell us stories about him when we were little. I'm Jack Taylor and this is my brother Oliver. Oh and this is our friend Nathair, he doesn't say much."

Nathair nodded at them and went back to the window as the others exchanged handshakes before sitting back down. Jack and Oliver seemed unwilling to go back to their previous conversation. In an uncommon bout of bravery Al decided to start a conversation.

"So, where do you all come from?"

He said he'd start a conversation, not that he'd start a good one. From there they went onto families, to schoolhouses, to animals. By the time they got to the Hogsmeade Jack and Oliver were having a heated discussion, eagerly watched by Arya and Rose, about whether or not a cherry could sing and dance if you knew the right charms, as Al and Nathair both looked out the window, their eyes widening at the sight of the castle in the distance.

Al reached over shaking Oliver's arm, breaking up the argument. Apparently they would never hear what it was he had to say on a larynx.

"Guys, we're here." The simple statement caused a hush to fall over the compartment and the six of them crowded round the window in an attempt to see the castle. Unfortunately at that moment the train came to a stop with a small jolt, causing them to fall onto the seats and Al and Jack to get slightly squished by their new friends.

A few minutes later they were huddled on the Hogsmeade platform, surrounded by swarms of people heading towards carriages pulled by invisible horses- probably the Thestrals James had mentioned earlier. Just as Al was wondering where they were meant to go- James had also said something about boats- they heard a voice calling over the heads of the other students.

"First Years! First Years, this way please!"

The six of them headed towards the voice, which was now accompanied by a bright lantern being held on a long, tall stick. The teacher in question was a tall thin woman, bearing a remarkable resemblance to the pole she was carrying. As the students gathered around her she brought the lantern lower down, bringing herself into the circle of light, revealing a warm friendly face.

"I am Professor Twisthazel," she continued, as she did a quick head count. "We appear to have everyone, so if you would follow me down to the boats."

A few minutes later Al, Rose, Jack, Oliver, Arya and Nathair were sitting in a boat, being propelled by magic across the dark, inky black lake. Arya had lent over and was trailing her fingers through the water, creating small ripples.

"I wouldn't do that dear, the Giant Squid probably isn't asleep yet," said the teacher as she glanced at the young girl.

At the mention of the Giant Squid she hastily pulled her hand out of the water, drying it on her robes, before leaning over the boat again, not with the look of fear Al had suspected, but with one of intrigue. She was certainly an odd girl.

The group of students walked into a huge hall. The walls were covered with red, blue, green and yellow banners and it was light by masses of floating candles. The first years walked down the middle of the hall, between the four long wood tables. Most of the children were staring at the ceiling, which was a perfect replica of the real night sky outside.

Rose leaned over to whisper in his ear, "It's not the real sky you know. Mum told me. It's just a spell to make it look like it."

Al nodded, but he was not looking at the ceiling; he was looking at the other occupants of the hall, not just the first years but also the other students and teachers too, learning as many faces as possible, before noticing James. His brother gave him a wide grin and a thumbs-up as he walked past, Al grinned back.

The first years stopped as an Italian looking teacher came out placing a three legged stool with an old hat on it in the centre of the room, right in front of the teachers' table. The hat opened its mouth and began to sing, something about finally having school unity between the houses, hoping it would last for years to come. Al wasn't really listening; he had gone back to scoping out the students.

As the hat finished the same teacher came out again, this time with a long role of parchment. He began reading off names and the small first years came to the front, some giddy with excitement, some almost sick with nerves and one by one they were sorted off into their houses, their ties changing to their house colours as they walked towards the tables.

The first of their six to be called was Arya, who almost ran towards the stool, jamming the hat on top of her braids. The hat remained silent for less than a second before calling out "Ravenclaw!" and Arya positively skipped towards the table full of blue and silver, her tie now matching theirs.

Next to go was 'Haige, Nathair'; the quiet boy walked to the front, solemnly placing the hat on his head. Again the hat was only quiet for a second and then shouted "Slytherin!" The boy stood up and walked just as surely towards the table at the far right of the room, taking his seat.

Jake and Oliver both ended up in Gryffindor, Oliver almost tripping up the stairs in his haste to be sorted so he could join his brother.

Despite her father's threats Rose joined Ravenclaw, not to Al's surprise- she had always been extremely bright, and he watched as she went to sit with Arya.

Al had begun to get nervous as it got nearer and nearer to his name. Finally he was reached and he took a deep breath walking out to the front of the hall. He felt slightly sick now, though he couldn't tell if it was from nerves or the hundreds of people watching him. He sat down of the small stool placing the headpiece on his, well, head obviously. It was bigger than he expected, and the black cloth fell around his eyes, causing everything to go dark. Then he heard the voice.

_Interesting. So you're the second of Potter's children are you? Very interesting;you're more similar to your father than your mother- your brother was more like her. And those twins too. There is some chivalry in there, no doubt about that, but no, not enough bravery for Gryffindor, I think, and it is my opinion that matters here. And yours of course. You seem quite smart, willing to learn. Eager would be stretching the truth though. Not Ravenclaw either then. You are very loyal, but what's this? Also very cunning it would seem. You've been watching the other students haven't you, seeing who's a threat, who's an ally. And not above a little trickery or a few white lies either I see. Well then I think it must be-_

"Slytherin!"

The hat was pulled off Al's head and he blinked in the sudden light. As he began walking he looked over at the Gryffindor table, searching out James again. He spotted him; he was clearly surprised, that much was obvious. Al supposed he really had been joking about him ending up in Slytherin. As he caught his eye though his brother smiled, giving him another thumbs-up, and Al continued over to the Slytherin table, not as disappointed as he thought he would be. Actually now he thought about it, he was glad to be in another house, not having to live in his brother's shadow the whole time.

He sat down opposite Nathair, glad to already know someone in his new house. A blond boy was now sitting next to him. Al recognised him from the station. Hadn't his Uncle Ron said something about him? Never mind, it couldn't have been that important, could it?

He reached across the table to the other boy, sticking out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Al. You're Scorpius right? I saw at the station." He looked surprised at someone already knowing his name but took the hand none the less.

"Al Potter, of course. Fancy you becoming a Slytherin. Scorpius Malfoy."

Up close Al could see the light dancing in the other boy's eyes. Yes, the mask on the station had definitely been just that- a mask. There was a look of mischief about this pale boy. He was definitely going to be fun to have as a friend.

**So was it awesome? Did it suck? Was it just completely average? Let me know- reviews please! **

**Chance xx**


	2. 2 Weeks Later

**AN: This one's a bit shorter, but come on, two chapters in two days, that's pretty decent. It's just a bit of fluff really; establishing everyone's relationships. Mostly Scorpius and Al, but the others are in there to, even managed to work Luna's kids in as well.**

**I've drawn a pic of the gang under their tree and it's posted on my Tumblr site: http:/ www. /blog/ chance1313**

**(just remove the spaces from the link )**

**Disclaimer- Unfortunately, no I still don't own them…**

Sure Fire Winners

Chapter 2 – 2 Weeks Later

Al walked through the Hogwarts grounds, towards the large oak tree next to the lake with Nathair beside him, happily chatting about the Transfiguration lesson that had just finished. 'Doesn't say much', yeah right Jack. Once you got to know the pale boy he didn't shut up, barely pausing for breath in the last two weeks he had known him.

Two weeks. Had he really been at Hogwarts for two weeks already? It had gone by in a flash of new friends, classes and fun. Even the homework couldn't get him down. Today he had managed to get to all his classes without getting lost once, they were starting flying lessons next week and he some of the best friends in the world. Nothing could get him down today.

Speaking of which. Al and Nathair reached the oak tree, plopping themselves down next to the rest of the group. Despite being sorted into separate houses the six of them had remained friends, even sharing some classes, the only difference being a couple more had joined their small group; Scorpius, who was well on his way to being Al's best friend, and Tobin, another Gryffindor. Along with Jack and Oliver the three had already begun to terrorise the school with their endless pranks. Just the other day they had added some extra ingredients to one of the Slytherin's cauldron, while Scorpius distracted them. The resulting explosion had somehow managed to shrink them all by six inches. It had been a very good laugh making all the 'ickle firsties' the size of eight-year-olds, and had lost Gryffindor twenty points. Scorpius, Al and Nathair had decided to encourage them as much as possible.

The group were supposedly doing homework in the shade of the tree but as Al leaned over the parchment the three were poring over he saw not the potions essay they had been set, but a page covered in notes and diagrams, looking like a very promising prank. Rose and Arya were sitting next to the two boys, actually were working on their homework, though every so often one of them would joining the discussion, saying something along the lines of "It would be really simple to..." or "If you just…", and five minutes after the three Slytherins had sat down they were putting the finishing touches on their master plan.

Nathair and Scorpius distracted the others, complimenting them on their last prank and the potions homework as Al subtly lent over, trying to decipher the messy scrawling handwriting.

"Yeah," Tobin was saying, "Definitely one of our best ones yet. And don't think we can't see you Al."

"What d'you mean? I was just trying to see Rose's Potions essay," he lied smoothly, an expert after years of helping James cover up his various tricks.

"Right, and I'm a flobberworm," retorted Tobin sarcastically, "Typical Slytherin, always trying to cheat."

The insult didn't really have the desired effect, as all that happened was for the three boys in question to beam widely, glad to be living up to their reputation. The girls just rolled their eyes, finishing off said homework.

Al's smile dropped slightly and he became more serious, "Really though Rose, could you give us a hand with it, I'm not getting this Boil-Cure thing _at all_."

His cousin just smiled, pulling out her copy of 'Magical Drafts and Potions', which fell open at the page she needed, and she began her explanation.

Twenty minutes later she finished and Al thought he understood at least slightly better. The sun was slightly lower in the sky but there was still enough light to see by. The three Gryffindors and Nathair had headed back to the castle to drop off their satchels before diner. Rose gathered her belongings and did the same, walking next Arya, whose braids were swinging from side to side as she walked. Al and Scorpius wandered closer to the lake and the blond picked up a small rock, skimming it across the surface. Al watched its path in awe as it jumped two, three, four times before sinking.

"That is so cool Scorp. You've got to teach me to do that."

His friends grinned at his new nickname. "Sure. Look first you get a really flat stone…"

He spent a few minutes chucking stones at the lake until one finally made a couple of jumps, causing him to laugh. Scorpius looked around at the now almost-deserted grounds and the dimming light.

"We better get back up, before we're late for dinner. Again."

"Fine, fine, I'm going." Al picked up his satchel, not wanting a repeat of the previous week; Scorpius was grouchy when he got hungry.

Scorpius slung his arm around his friend's shoulders and they began to walk towards the bright lights of the castle. Before they were less than halfway there, the pair heard laughter behind them, turning to see James walking up with Lysander and Lorcan Scamander, undoubtedly returning from Quidditch practice. Lorcan played as beater, Lysander was a chaser, while James had got Seeker, like their father.

Al smiled at his brother and he and Scorpius paused, waiting for the trio to catch up.

"Hiya James, Lorcan, Andy."

"Hey yourself. How's the family's favourite Slytherin?" James replied, managing to make even the simplest greeting full of confidence and, well, just plain coolness.

"Who's your friend? Think we've seen him around before." Asked one of the twins, Al couldn't tell which, the pair were completely identical from their blond hair to their pale skin.

"This is my friend Scorpius. Scorp this is my brother James and this is Lorcan and this is Andy. No that's Andy and that's Lorcan. Wait…" Al's finger switched between the twins trying to work out which was which. The two boys gave him identical smiles and rolled their eyes.

"That's Andy," said the blond on the left, pointing at his twin.

"And that's Lorcan," said the other, making the same gesture to the other boy.

Scorpius reached out his hand towards them, "Hi. I'm Scorpius Malfoy. Not Scorp, only Al calls me that."

The twins took his hand, glad to meet the young Slytherin. James however didn't move. The grin remained on his face but the happy light in his eyes, visible just seconds ago, had disappeared at the mention of his last name. He mouthed the word 'Malfoy'.

"Al, can I talk to you for a sec." It wasn't so much a question so much as a demand and before his younger brother could answer he had grabbed his arm and pulled him away, telling his friends he'd catch them up later. Al shrugged at Scorpius, shooting him an apologetic look and his extremely confused friend.

James dragged him into an alcove in an abandoned corridor.

"What are you doing?"

Al gave his brother an innocent confused look, honestly not understanding the question.

"Oh, don't look at me like that; you know what I'm talking about."

Al's expression didn't change, still not following what he was talking about.

"Wow, you really don't. He's a _Malfoy_. You know about their reputation, right?"

Al still didn't know what he was going on about. He vaguely remembered something about Death Eaters and the war. He also remembered stories about Scorpius' father and grandmother saving his father's life, and Aunt Hermione scolding Uncle Ron, saying not to have prejudices against them.

"They're a really bad family. _Really_ bad. Everyone knows they're involved in Dark Arts and that, and that they were Death Eaters during the War. You don't want to get mixed up in that. I don't want you mixed up in that. Malfoy's too dangerous to hang around with."

"No he's not," murmured Al, staring at his shoes.

"What? Were you not listening to what I just-"

"Yes," Al looked up, more defiant than before, "Yes I heard you. And Scorp isn't like that. Not at all. He's nice, and funny, and taught me to skim stones. He's my best friend and I'm not going to abandon him just because of some stupid reputation."

Al was almost shouting by the end of this, glaring at his brother.

James had taken a step back in shock. Al never shouted; he was shy and quiet, he had never heard him raise his voice. Not when James accidently broke his favourite toy when he was six. Not when he was defending Lily from the muggle bullies down the road. Not when he had told him he could end up in Slytherin. And now he was. He was shouting at his own brother, defending a _Malfoy_.

"Fine then. Don't come running to me when he abandons you and screws up your friendship." With that the taller of the two strode off, heading to the Great Hall. If he had looked back he would have seen his little brother's eyes fill with tears as he watched him leave. But he didn't.

After the argument with his brother Al had run to the dungeons, trying to stop the tears falling down his cheeks. Slytherin's didn't cry.

He collapsed on his bed, burying his head in his pillow. The dorm was completely silent, apart from the quiet sniffles coming from Al's bed, as everyone else was at dinner.

A few minutes later the dark oak door slowly swung open and Scorpius stuck his head round the door.

"Al?"

He looked around the room, almost missing Al lying on his bed, as his dark robes blended in so much with the shadows cast by the thick dark green curtains surrounding the four-poster bed. He walked over to the bed, just as slow and cautious as when he opened the door. The blond sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed unsure of what to do. He vaguely patted his friend on his shoulder, unsure of how to comfort him. Slowly the sniffles stopped and Al sat up rubbing his red-rimmed eyes, giving a small smile.

"Hey. Sorry for being such an idiot."

"Crying doesn't make you an idiot. Don't apologise."

"Sor-" Scorp shot him a look, and Al grinned slightly, sniffling again.

"What's up?" Scorpius asked him, concern in his voice.

"James." He replied shortly. Scorpius raised his eyebrows, waving his hand in a please-elaborate motion. "He said I shouldn't be friends with you. Said your family had a bad reputation, that they messed with Dark Arts and were Death Eaters in the War."

Scorpius' face hardened. He stood up abruptly, removing his hand from Al's shoulder, turning to leave. Al caught the boy's wrist before he could take a second step.

"Where are you going?"

"You just said that-"

"I told you what James said, not that I agreed. I told him you're my best friend and that's not going to change because of some stupid reputation and stuff that happened in the past before you were even born."

Scorp smiled again and Al pulled him back down to sit on the bed.

"Surely you wouldn't expect me to do what my brother says?" The two laughed and Scorp reached into one of his robe pockets.

"You missed dinner, so I snuck you some food." He pulled out a couple of sandwiches wrapped up in a paper napkin, handing it to him.

Al finished up the sandwiches, scrunching the napkin into a ball and threw it into the bin across the room with perfect accuracy.

"Thanks Scorp."

The other boy shrugged, "It's just a sandwich."

"Not that. I meant thanks for being my friend."

The taller boy, normally so stoic and expressionless in public, blushed, smiling shyly down at the duvet.

"Thanks. For being my friend too. You didn't have to. The stuff your brother said about my family is true. They were Death Eaters. They did practice Dark magic. Heck for most of the War Voldermort lived in the manor. They were not nice people to know." Scorpius trailed off as he went back to staring at the duvet.

"Yeah, but you're not them. Just because you look like your father doesn't mean you are him. Look at me- I didn't even end up in the same house as mine. Not that I'm sorry; if I'd been in Gryffindor I probably wouldn't have even met you. Anyways the past is past. It can't be changed. All we can control is the future."

Scorp looked back up at him, "You know, you're pretty smart Al. Sure you shouldn't be in Ravenclaw?"

Al looked at him in mock horror, "What? And spend all my time studying. No thanks."

The two laughed, nudging each other's shoulders, causing them to sway sideways a few times. The atmosphere lightened slightly.

Scorpius cleared his throat, "Well, thanks Al. I guess you're right."

"Of course, when amn't I?"

Scorpius paused for a second before reaching over and hugging his best friend. Al froze for a moment, surprised at the sudden contact before hugging him back. They sat like that for a few seconds until Al started shacking slightly.

"What?"

"It's your hair. It's tickling my nose."

"Oh, ticklish are you?" Scorp's eyes glinted with this newfound information.

Al's eyes widened in panic, "What? Me, ticklish? No not at all."

His babbling protests were cut short as Scorp lunged forward tackling him down on the bed, tickling him under the arms. In mere seconds Al was a laughing heap on the bed, unable to do anything except squirm. Eventually Scorp gave in his pleas for mercy as the rest of their dorm mates entered. The five got ready for bed, chatting and larking about, Nathair splashing Scorpius with water from the sink.

Once he was dried off, Scorpius shut the curtains around his bed, grateful not only to have a new best friend, but one that knew about his family's past and accepted it.

Al fell asleep, smiling at the day he had had, the argument from earlier completely forgotten.

**AN: Thank you to the 33 people who have read this. Some of you guys are really far away, it's pretty cool knowing how far out this has gone. There is someone literally on the other side of the planet, all the way in Australia, that's read this!**

**Reviews please!**

**Chance xx**


	3. The Next Day

**AN: This is my first chapter from Scorpius' PoV; I had quite a bit of fun writing it. I don't really like being mean to my characters so there won't be another argument for a while. Possibly. I've got a couple of ideas. Sorry but there won't be daily updates for a while; the holidays ended and I was back at school today and I've got Highers coming up in a couple of months and I'm still writing Aftermath. Also going to Satellite 3 at the weekend (Woo!) so all in all very busy. I'm aiming for weekly updates, but don't kill me if I can't manage it.**

**Disclaimer- No I don't own Harry Potter. Arya, Nathair, Jack, Oliver, Tobin, Noel and Damian are all my idea though!**

Sure Fire Winners

Chapter 3 – The Next Day

Al, Scorpius and Nathair walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. They sat down next to their two other roommates; Noel, a large boy, not fat but looking like he was built to a twelfth larger scale than normal, and Damian, who would look completely average if not for his hair, which was midnight black with multi-coloured highlights through it.

The five of them ate their breakfasts, Scorpius and Nathair still trying to guess what the Gryffindors' prank was. Noel and Damian got up to leave at the same moment as Rose and Arya entered the hall, scouring the room for spare seats; it was now half eight and almost the whole school was packed into the hall. Al stood up waving to the pair across the room. Arya caught his eye and pulled on Rose's sleeve, started dragging her to the Slytherin table. Rose saw the three boys and grinned as they walked towards them.

The two girls stuck out as they sat down at the table, two drops a blue in a sea of green. The girls, and the rest of the Slytherins for that matter, didn't seem to care and carried on as normal; they had sat at that table almost every other day for the last couple of weeks. At first the other Slytherins and Ravenclaws had given them odd looks, but everyone was so used to it now if someone pointed out that their were Ravenclaws at the Slytherin table they would probably ask the two girls if they had seen them.

Nathair and Scorpius, still intent on working out the prank, began wheedling with the girls, whom they knew had had a hand in it. The girls just shook their heads and laughed, Al joining in with the infectious chuckles.

He looked up across the room and his laughter died as quickly as it had come as he saw James and his friends enter the hall. He sunk down lower on the bench and Scorpius put a comforting arm across his shoulders as James' gaze swept across the hall, also looking for a seat, completely ignoring his younger brother, causing the boy's face to drop even more. Rose looked around confused, trying to find the source of Al's sadness. She saw the cold look on James' face and quickly put two and two together and shot Scorp a questioning look. Scorpius just shook his head slightly, mouthing 'Later', before urging the group out the room, guiding them to their first class.

They arrived almost a whole fifteen minutes early and the five took up two desks at the back of the History of Magic classroom. They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, Scorpius still with a comforting hand on Al's shoulder, Rose trying to work out what could have happened between the two brothers, Arya and Nathair unwilling to break the quiet. Eventually other students started piling into the room and soon the class was full of other students and happy chattering, completely at odds with the mood of the small group, none of which changed one iota as Professor Binns entered, floating through the stone wall from the opposite classroom.

Rose turned to Scorpius and Al, almost bursting with curiosity.

"What's going on between you and James?" she asked the boy, whose head was laid on his crossed arms on top of hi textbook. Knowing a sensitive topic when she heard one Arya turned to Nathair, quickly striking up a conversation about the upcoming Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match.

The mumbled answer Rose got to her concerned question was "Argument."

As she waited and no more information seemed forthcoming she turned her gaze onto Scorpius, who was now fidgeting with his quill.

"Al and James had an argument. About me; James thinks we shouldn't be friends because of my family's reputation."

Rose made an annoyed sound, turning back to the unmoving raven-haired boy. "Al, you have got to stand up for yourself. I know you hate confrontations but you can't always do what James says. You can't let people walk all over you." At her words his head shifted slightly and the other two heard a few mumbled words, unable to make them out as he was talking into his elbow.

"What was that?" Rose asked, the concern still obvious in her voice, her curiosity peaked.

"I said, I did stand up to him. Ended up yelling at him. He said not to come running to him when Scorp ruins our friendship. Then he left and now he's acting like I don't exist."

Scorpius looked at his friend with mixed emotions; guilt for causing this argument between two brothers, sadness for seeing his friend so unhappy, gratefulness for Al standing up for him, and also, for a reason Al was yet to understand, determination.

"Everything'll be fine. You know what James' like; he'll be mad for a few days and then go back to normal, like nothing ever happened," Rose continued to her cousin, changing tact as she learnt more about the argument.

Al brightened slightly at this and sat up properly. "Yeah, I guess so. Oh and Arya," he turned to the pair at the end of the bench, "Nate's right. We've seen them training; there's no way Hufflepuff'll beat Gryffindor, no matter how good their new chasers are."

A few days past and for the first time in her life Rose Weasley had been wrong. James still wasn't talking to Al.

Scorpius had had enough. His best friend was utterly depressed just because his brother was too much of an idiot to accept the truth and was instead relying on old prejudices. So Scorpius had decided to take it upon himself to change this for the better.

He was standing outside the library, waiting for James to exit. He had already been standing there for half an hour, but he couldn't go in as Madame Pince had banned him for a week after making a small army of paper aeroplanes fly around the large room, but there was no way he was giving up and leaving Al to suffer for even longer than he already had.

It was another ten minutes before Scorpius spotted his target, honing in on the dark haired third year. He walked confidently over to the older boy, who was now chatting with a group of friends.

"James? Can I talk to you please?" As the Gryffindor looked like he was about to reject him he continued, "Please? About Albus?"

After a moment of hesitation James nodded and walked away from the group into an empty classroom with Scorpius following behind.

"Not wanting to stay in the hall with witnesses? That's very brave of you Malfoy."

Scorpius just shrugged, "I trust you. I think I'm quite a good judge of character, especially when it comes to things like that."

James continued to glower at the first year in front of him. "Well what did you want then?"

"I want you to start talking to Al again. He's not done anything wrong."

James' glare intensified at the last few words. "Yes, he has. He's friends with _you_."

"Exactly. He doesn't go round judging people on their family's reputation or other things they can't control."

"Oh and I'm sure you're just a little saint, aren't you?"

"I never said that, but I'm not my father either. I just want to go to school, make friends and learn things. I don't think that's too much to ask is it? Except that you seem to think it is."

"Right and collect followers to bring home to turn into Death Eaters and teach the Dark Arts to."

James crossed his arms, continuing to glare down at the smaller boys, who until then had been matching his expression but had now turned to one of honest puzzlement.

"Why would I do any of that?" Scorpius began counting off on his fingers, "One, I like Muggles- my mother sent me to a muggle primary school- I don't want to hurt them. Two, I don't actually want to hurt _anyone_, so why would I try and re-start some old war that made no sense in the first place? And three, Dark magic and all that is _illegal_, in case you hadn't noticed, and I quite like not being in Azkaban, thank you very much."

James looked down at the young boy, anger now rolling off the blond in almost visible waves. Scorpius really hated people assuming he was his father, just because he looked like him, much the same as Albus did. Scorpius watched as the boy's glare softened and he actually began to look a little sheepish.

"Sorry. I guess… I guess I shouldn't have assumed."

Scorpius still looked annoyed as he spoke. "No you shouldn't of. But it's not me you should be apologising to; it's Albus. He has been completely miserable for the last four days because of you. He tries to act like he's not too bothered by it but I can tell."

James looked shocked; he obviously hadn't realised their argument had had such an effect on brother, on him or his friend.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I will. Do you know where he is?"

Scorpius nodded, "Should be in the common room." The blond weighed up his options for a few seconds before sighing, "I'll show you where it is."

With that he opened the door and took a few steps out. As James didn't move he turned to look at the Gryffindor, who had frozen.

"You coming or what?"

"You want me to go, willingly, in the Slytherin common room?" he asked incredulously.

"You want to apologise to Al don't you? Well that's where he is. Anyways I thought Gryffindors were meant to be brave."

"They are, I mean, I am." He appeared to realise his options, "Fine I'll come."

The two boys left the classroom, heading down towards the dungeons.

Scorpius muttered the password under his breath so as James couldn't hear it. He had said he trusted the boy, yes, but only so far as to not beat him up in an empty classroom, not to tell the password to all of Gryffindor so that they could break in and completely ruin the place.

Part of the stone wall slid back and Scorpius lead James down into the low ceilinged room. It was light by gas lamps that gave off a slight green tinge, which was amplified by the light from the windows, which was a murky colour, a result of it having to filter through the lake above. The pair walked across the grey flagstone, down the eight steps into the main body of the room. They passed the fireplace, surrounded by leather sofas, upholstered in green and black, a few second years sitting in them. Scorpius spotted Al sitting in the corner at a dark wood desk, hunched over his homework. He indicated him to James and they walked over, Scorpius between the Gryffindor and the second years, who were casting the older boy uneasy glances.

"Al? There's someone who wants to talk to you."

Albus looked up, his eyes widening in shock as he noticed his brother.

"Scorp, what's he doing here? He can't be here. What if…" the small boy began to babble before Scorpius cut him off.

"It's fine, there's hardly anyone here and I made sure he couldn't hear the password."

"Al, it's alright I can look after myself. And if something does happen I've you and Scorpius here to back me up, right?"

Al slowly nodded, looking slightly less uncertain and James sat down opposite him. Scorpius went back over to the fireplace, where the second years were, who started whispering angrily the moment he arrived undoubtedly mad at him brining a Gryffindor into their common room.

"So, um, about the other day. I'm really sorry- I shouldn't try to control who you're friends with. It's just I've heard loads of stories from dad about what Scorpius' father was like at school and what a git he was. Then at the station they just seemed so similar. I just didn't want you hanging out with someone like that; I didn't want you to end up _becoming_ someone like that. I'm sorry."

Al thought for a moment; he didn't have to accept the apology, especially as it was obvious Scorp had talked him into it. On the other hand he was only trying to look out for him and he had really missed his brother- he hated fighting with him.

"It's ok, I guess. Just don't judge my friends before you get to know them."

James grinned; glad his brother was so forgiving. "I won't, don't worry." He looked around the room for a few seconds, able to take it in now he was less nervous.

"So this is the Slytherin common room then. It's very… green."

"Oh and I suppose in your tower everything isn't plastered in red and gold?"

"Hey, at least we're not under the lake."

"Yeah, well we're not next to the owlery."

The brothers grinned at each, pleased to be back at their old sibling rivalry after so long apart.

Scorpius watched them from across the room and smiled. Not only was his best friend happy again, his father would be positively sickened at his do-gooder attitude. This was turning out to be a really great day.

**AN: I hope adding and deleting all these chapters isn't messing with everyone alerts - must of the edits are just removing commas after all. Just to be clear; James is sort-of ok with Al being friends with Scorp, but he isn't by any means going to like him! He won't be out right nasty to him, just suspicious. To make it more interesting next chapter I'm putting in The Rivalry, and also, the Big Prank!**

**Chance x**


	4. 7 More Weeks

**AN: This is actually a new chapter! I'm starting to branch out a bit more in my PoV's- this had Al's, Rose's, Oliver's and a tiny bit of Jack's. I think this is also the first one where Professor McGonagall has lines (I know shed be really old by now, but look at Dumbledore, he was headmaster for at least as long). To make up for the long gap and the annoying chapter edits this is extra long, almost 3,500 words!**

**Disclaimer – I seem to have run out of interesting ways of saying 'I don't own Harry Potter'.**

Sure Fire Winners

Chapter 4 – 7 More Weeks

Al was getting worried. It had been weeks- _weeks _–and no one had seen hide nor hair of Jack and Oliver's amazing plan. It was now almost Hallowe'en and all that had happened in almost two months had been some minor mischief; a few cauldrons blown up, floating books in the library, oh, and some catnip which mysteriously appeared in McGonagall's desk; nothing out of the ordinary really. Al couldn't help but remember the whispered conversations and hastily hidden pieces of parchment shared between the two brothers and the Scamander twins. All four of whom had been acting rather odd lately, and their excitement could not be explained away by in being the 29th of October.

He leaned back uneasily onto the red sofa, the prospect of an imminent prank not helping him relax in the red and gold common room. Scorpius sat next to Al fidgeting, trying to watch everyone at once, causing a small circle to form around the two Slytherins.

"I know your brother said it would be alright but does this seem a bit awkward to you?" Scorpius mumbled to his friend.

"It would be better if he hadn't gone off to find the twins. I think he's in on that prank- Jack and Oliver are gone to."

"Must be something big for them to spend this long planning it and for them to have to ask Third Years for help. You know how they hate involving other people."

"Somehow, Scorpius, this isn't making me feel any better."

Scorpius retort was cut short as a couple of second years, who had been eyeing them for fifteen minutes finally approached them.

"What are _you_ doing here?" said the first boy.

"James let us in," Al answered calmly, really not wanting to start an argument with two boys a year older than them, at least two inches taller than them, in the middle of the Gryffindor Common room, which was currently packed.

"That doesn't mean we want a couple of cowardly snakes in here. Get out."

Apparently Scorpius didn't share Al's reasoning, as he stood up quickly, tilting his head slightly to stare the second boy in the eyes.

"Make us."

"_Scorp_," whispered Albus under his breath, "we are ridiculously outnumbered. Now is not the time to pick a fight."

The second years didn't hear and neither did the rest of the house as the two boys had been left stranded in the middle of an ever-growing circle. Really- where was a Prefect when you needed one?

"Oh, we will," said the first, slowly drawing his wand, the other copying the motion. Scorpius did the same pulling his wand out, holding it tightly by his side, subtly pointing it at the boy who appeared to be the leader, ready to defend him and Al.

"Scorpius, this is a really bad idea," repeated Albus, slightly louder, "Maybe we should just go." 

"No. We're visiting James and Jack and Oliver. We've got as much right to be here as anyone else."

"You should listen to your little friend blondie. Now run off like cowardly little Slytherins you are."

That just about did it for Albus. Trying to get him to leave a common room, which wasn't actually his, was one thing. Insulting his best friend and house was completely different. As fast as most of the onlookers could blink Al had jumped to his feet, strode the few steps between them and the two Gryffindors, and drawn his wand which was now pointed straight at the boy's throat.

"_What_ did you just say?" he hissed at the boy, who now looked extremely startled. Apparently he hadn't expected 'cowardly little Slytherins' to fight back, especially not ones so much smaller than him; especially, especially when they were outnumbered roughly twenty to one.

The boy had gone crossed eyed trying to stare at the wand pointed at him, and his friend was being no help what-so-ever, as he had also frozen once Scorpius had pointed his wand at him just daring him to try and hurt Al. Albus guessed the two weren't extremely popular, as no-one had jumped in to rescue their house mates, as he had been half expecting to happen.

"Nu… Nothing. Nothing at all. Just admiring how _logical_ you were being in the situation?" he wittered, desperately trying to back pedal through their 'conversation'.

Just as quickly as it had appeared, Al's wand was stowed back in his pocket, though it was still held tight in his hand- just because they were Gryffindors didn't mean he trusted them to not hex him when his back was turned.

"You know Scorpius," he called to his friend, without taking his eyes off the two still-frozen boys, "I think we've out stayed our welcome. Want to go back to the dungeons?"

"Yeah, it's too red up here anyway."

With that they left the tower, walking briskly down the corridor and round the corner so no one could see how much they were shaking. Two small first years had probably never been the centre of so much attention.

"Bloody hell Al."

"I know."

"That was…"

"I _know_."

"Reckon McGonagall and Melarithmos will kill us?"

"Possibly…"

"Reckon we'll ever be allowed back in? I mean it was pretty cool up there, even if it was all red."

"Probably."

Scorpius nodded, apparently out of questions and let his head droop forward as Al's flopped back against the wall. After a few seconds the blonde spoke again.

"We should probably get going. Y'know, before anyone comes out."

"Good point," replied Al and the two hurried away, taking as many short-cuts as they could remember to get back to the safety of the green and black dungeon as fast as possible.

Scorpius and Al were lazing on one of the long green sofas in the Slytherin common room, a lot more relaxed than they had been in the tower. For one thing no-one was staring at them and also the lack of people threatening to hex them also helped.

"Al, Scorpius," called Nate, who had just come through the wall into the dungeon,

"Jack and Oliver are outside. They really want to talk to you."

"Kay, thanks Nate."

"I reckon I know what they want to talk about, don't you Scorp?"

"Yeah. Think they'll be mad about us fighting in their common room."

"Depends how much everyone likes those other boys. And we didn't technically fight, more trading threats."

The two flopped off the sofa a left the common room.

Sure enough two brothers were leaning against the stone wall opposite the entrance. As the two Slytherins appeared and then wall shut behind them and the two pushed themselves off the wall in a matching movement.

"Is it true-"

"-what everyone's saying?" The two said, completing each other's sentences in their haste.

"Depends." Started Scorpius, "If they're saying we're planning on dying our hair pink and changing house, then no."

"But," continued Al, "if they're saying we were almost in a duel in Gryffindor Tower, then yes."

The two Gryffindor's eyes widened and Jack pulled the tie out his hair, adding to his dishevelled appearance.

"Wow."

"We're dead, aren't we? There were a tonne of people in there and they're going to be _so_ mad."

"You are kidding right?" quipped Jack, swinging his tie over his shoulder.

"It was Williams and Campbell. Everyone hates them and thinks they're a couple of complete Slyth-" Oliver cut himself off mid-sentence as he remembered who he was talking to, covering his confusion by grabbing Jack's tie and tying it around his head.

Al crossed his arms and Scorp glared frostily at the boy.

"Please, do continue. We never did get to hex those second years."

"I…Well, it's just… You know… They…" he flustered wildly, turning to his brother to help, who just raised his hands in a 'I'm-not-getting-involved' gesture. Al and Scorp exchanged a glance and the two split into grins.

"Yeah we know, just stop flapping. It doesn't suit you."

Oliver tried to glare back, realising he had just been made a fool of, failing miserably as he started laughing with Jack.

"So you seriously almost hexed them?" he asked after having recovered.

"I didn't," Scorpius defended himself, "_Al_ almost hexed them."

"Al?" the two said in shock.

"Yes, me. No need to sound so surprised."

"Yeah it's just, you're, well you're…"

"Al." supplied Jack

"Exactly. You're Al. You don't do fights."

"Well apparently he does when people insult his friends and house," grinned Scorp, slinging his arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Guys?" asked Al, "Why do you only have one tie between you. And why are you using it as a hairband?"

The two brothers grinned, "Well, you see…"

Jack sat on a desk in an empty classroom, his head resting against the wall behind him. One arm was resting on his leg, folded up in front of him, the other hanging lazily off the desk. His long hair was tied up with his red and gold striped tie which he was fiddling with. Oliver was lying on a desk opposite, his jumper discarded on the floor and sleeves rolled up, tie flicking into his face slightly as his head hung off the edge of the desk.

"Do you think they're ever gonna turn up? We've been waiting for _ages_."

"I know, so much for punctual- we need to finish this planning. Everything needs to be exactly right."

Silence fell again and Jack returned to flipping his tie about while Oliver drummed his fingers. Finally the door opened and the Scamander twins entered.

"Finally, we've been here for_ever_."

"Thought we were going to die of boredom."

"Oh come on," countered Andy, "You've only been here five minutes."

"I thought there were wrackspurts outside the library," explained Lorcan to which the three boys just rolled their eyes, "It was very noisy."

"Five minutes too long," replied Jack, "now have you got everything with you?"

Andy indicated his satchel, which was full of rolls of parchment which were covered in jotted down spells and plans.

"Good. Lets get started then."

Arya and Rose walked into the Great Hall, giddy with excitement; it was finally Hallowe'en, the night of the big prank. They were probably going to get into heaps of trouble for helping the boys but it would definitely be worth it.

Their eyes lit up as they entered the hall; the enchanted ceiling was a deep blue with a spattering of twinkling silver stars. In the place of the customary candles were dozens of floating pumpkins, the guttering candles inside them causing them to seem even more menacing. The room was already half full of other students eager to start the feast, chattering noisily.

The girls checked their protective charms for the fifth time that evening and sat down at the Ravenclaw table with the other first year girls- as much fun as the rest of their gang was it was possible to get bored hanging out with guys _all the time_.

The girls began chattering about the new Muggle albums one of their roommates had been sent by their cousin, '_Culture Vultures_'. The conversation quickly spiralled away, resting momentarily on the upcoming Quidditch match, their Charms homework assignment and Arya's older brother who left Hogwarts last June and was now working in the department of Magical Transportation and had started a petition to bring back flying carpets to Britain.

As it began to near the end of the feast and the piles of cakes, sweets and candied fruits had dwindled to crumbs Arya looked up at the ceiling and nudged Rose.

"Look," she whispered, stopping herself from pointing just in time, "it's almost ready."

Sure enough, unnoticed by the rest of the students the pumpkins floating above had started to pulse and swell. Rose caught Jack's eye across the tables and he grinned, jerking his head upwards. Her eyes followed where he was indicating and saw the pumpkin above Williams and Campbell had grown to twice its original size and was glowing faintly green. Al wasn't the only one who didn't take his friends being insulted well.

Rose looked back to the brothers who were mouthing together '_five, four, three, two, one_'.

The pumpkins exploded.

Students screamed as orange pulp rained down on them, Arya, Rose and the four Gryffindor boys protected by their shield charms. The girls watched, Arya in glee and Rose slightly apprehensively, as the flesh of the giant pumpkin hit Williams and Campbell, drenching them in orange gloop. Her apprehension disappeared and was replaced with a grin identical to Arya's as the two boys wiped it off their faces, flicking the globules onto the floor, revealing their skin which was now bright green. Not noticing the growing circle of silence around them the two shook their heads, sending the gunk flying. Nearby girls squealed and tried to get out of the line of fire of the charmed pumpkin pieces and the boys began snickering slightly; to match their sickly green skin they now had silver hair.

Jack and Oliver- two of the six people left in the whole school without their hair or skin dyed orange in patches- leant over.

"Since you like Slytherin so much we thought you might like to wear their colours."

"For a month," added Oliver, high-fiving his brother.

The crack of the two hands meeting broke the tension and the students started laughing, chatting and complaining. Arya turned to the Slytherin table and gave Al and Scorp a thumbs up.

This went on for a few minutes, Gryffindor congratulating the four boys, clapping them on the back and laughing at Williams and Campbell, both of whom were still in shock at the thought of having to be green and silver for an entire month. At the Ravenclaw table the first and second years were looking at Arya and Rose in awe, amazed that the two girls- the same ones that always did their homework, didn't ever talk in class and – as far as they knew- didn't even pass notes –had been involved in what had to be the most impressive prank so far that year.

Professor McGonagall steeped up to the head teacher's podium and the room fell silent immediately. She surveyed the room taking in the orange students, the green and silver Gryffindors and the six (mostly) immaculate children.

"Scamanders, Hitchens, Das, Weasley, please report to my office immediately. Williams, Campbell, if you would go to the Hospital Wing, I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will be able to return you to your original... colours."

With that she stepped away from the podium and walked out the hall, striding towards her office.

"I _told_ you this was a bad idea," hissed Rose to her best friend, "Didn't I say we would get caught, that we would get in trouble?"

"Relax," replied Arya, walking confidently to the office, head held high and braids swinging behind her. "From what you've told me about your family, I'd say that your dad and uncles'll be proud."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Which ones? Given the size of my family that's practically half the Wizarding world."

Arya snorted at the joke, "Probably is. I meant the ones that own a joke shop."

Rose paused mid-step. "Y'know I think you're probably right. I just really don't want a detention, or to lose house points."

"Then you shouldn't have helped look up those charms."

"Yes, but-" Arya gave her a _look_. "Fine, let's just get this over with."

With that she grabbed her friends arm and dragged her up the spiral staircase after the boys.

Oliver stepped into the circular office and actually tugged the red and gold tie off his head, leaving it to hang loosely around his neck. The room was filled with small gadgets and inventions, all whistling, clicking, whirring and cluttering up every available space. Probably left over from when Dumbledore was headmaster- he did a quick calculation in his head –twenty years. Wow.

McGonagall was either extremely sentimental or as obsessed with tradition as every other witch and wizard over the age of thirty. Speaking of the old man. Oliver looked up at the walls covered with portraits of the old headmasters and mistresses, or at least their back drops. A majority of them were pretending to snooze while watching the six children gathered in the centre of the room. Being a painting must _really_ dull. Two of the old heads caught his eye- one with long white hair and twinkling blue eyes and the other with dark hair and eyes. So that's who Al is named after.

McGonagall turned to face them, addressing the two fourth years first. "Lorcan, Lysander, this I have come to expect from you, if not at this scale, but encouraging first years? What exactly were you thinking?"

Oliver glanced at Jack, who at some point had tied his hair up again and saw him nod slightly. Time for that famous Gryffindor courage. The two stepped forward.

"Actually Professor, it was our idea."

"And we approached the twins."

"And Arya and Rose."

"And decided to specifically target those two worms."

"But in our defence we were provoked."

"Really? How were you provoked enough to deem it necessary to dye the two boys green and silver?"

"They insulted Al and Scorpius personally and also their house and tried to start a fight with them."

Oliver tried to stop his mouth twitching into a smile as he heard one of the paintings snort. Obviously they weren't the only ones with a sense of humour.

"Well as admirable as your loyalty and this house unity are I cannot condone you actions." She turned back to the twins, "Is this true?"

The two Scamanders looked at each other, both obviously undergoing an internal debate- should they agree, to tell the truth and try and lessen their fall or protect their new friends and get into even more trouble than they already were? Oliver decided to save them the effort and crossed his arms, clearing his throat.

"Yes it's true." Sighed Lorcan, his sing-song lilt toned down due to the seriousness of the situation.

"But," cut in Andy, who had always been more sensible than his two-minutes-younger brother, "they didn't force us to do anything and we gave them a lot of help organising and planning everything."

The headmistress nodded, apparently satisfied with their answer and turned to the girls. Arya stared back defiantly, not being brave so much as ridiculously cocky, while Rose in complete contrast was staring down at her shiny black patent shoes and shuffling her feet.

"Miss Das, I can't say I'm surprised that you are involved with this given that these two," she glared at jack and Oliver, "were, but Miss Weasley I expected more of you. So far you have been remarkably sensible and mature. Why did you feel the need to get mixed up in this debarkle?"

The small red-head shuffled her feet some more before glancing up at the teacher.

"Well you see, a month ago-"

"A _month_ ago?"

"We said it took a lot of planning," cut in Andy.

"Well Jack and Oliver said they had this really great idea, but needed help with some of the magic and since me and Arya are dead smart could we help them research and learn some charms."

"And you just agreed without asking what they planned?" questioned McGonagall, apparently doubting that the girl should have been sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Oh no Professor," began Arya, speaking for the first time since entering the office, "I got them to tell us exactly what they wanted to do. I thought it sounded really funny so I talked Rose into helping too, but all the credit for Williams and Campbell has to go to them. We didn't even know until about five seconds before the pumpkins exploded."

McGonagall blinked, surprised at the girl's honesty.

"Well thank you, Miss Das, for telling me. How long will the charms last for?"

Arya pretended to ponder the question- they all knew the answer.

"Well Professor, I'd say for about a month."

To this the Headmistress just pursed her lips, past the point of being surprised by their prank. "I don't suppose there is a way to remove the charm to return them to normal?"

"Nope."

"Well in that case all that remains is your punishment. A detention to each of you with your respective heads of house, you will lose twenty points each and I shall be writing to your parents."

The twins considered this for a moment before deciding that it could be a lot worse.

"Fair enough. May we return to our common rooms now Professor?"

"Yes, please do."

**AN: I know I made Rose sound like a complete wimp in this, but there has to be a reason she didn't end up in Gryffindor, and I don't think she's that different from Hermione in first year- she'll get better, I promise . When calling out last names McGonagall called Jack and Oliver 'Hitchens' which is their last name as of now. Bob Hitchens was married to Isla Black who was disowned for marrying a Muggle/ Muggleborn (the Blacks didn't differentiate between the two) so they are their descendants. I just thought it would be cool if they were (**_**very**_**) distantly related to the Potters, Weasleys, and Tonkses.**

**You may also have noticed by now that this is basically a collection of one shots (I was trying to make it sort of like **_**The Mormfongs **_**– amazing story!) so if anyone has any requests or ideas for the end of first year and second year please put them forward! **

**I was thinking about putting their letters from their parents and/or Rose's family's reaction when they get their letter from McGonagall into a one-shot. Who would read this?**

**R&R please( especially about that ^)!**

**Chance x**


	5. AN

AN: Okay, I absolutely swore when I started this that I would never do this and I would always remember to update my stories, but obviously that was, bloody hell, almost a year ago (!) and I had no idea how much work Advanced Highers would be.

So here's the thing, last year I applied to uni, but I didn't get in cause I didn't get enough grades, so now I'm doing sixth year – Advanced Maths, Advanced Physics and Higher Graph. Com. – and I've completely re-worked my entire uni application and I need to get at least a B in Maths or Physics and an A in Graph. Com. which means a tonne of work. Also, because we're sixth year and prefects and stuff we have to 'set a good example' to all of the school, which apparently means having absolutely no free time- since we started back eight weeks ago I have had one weekend to myself.

That, along with a really busy summer means I've really got out of the swing of writing and have ended up with really bad writer's block; I've got about two paragraphs of the next chapter for Aftermath done in the last three months. This chapter was always going to take a long time anyways, cause even if it doesn't end up being that long it's probably the most important one to the plot- major pivotal chapter .

I've also done about half the chapter for Sure Fire Winners, but I'm just really not in the mood to write it- I've am the Christmas/New Year bit and I'm just not feeling it, despite the ridiculous amount of Christmas décor in all the shops.

Basically whenever I end up having some free time- hopefully at some point during our October Break, which is pretty soon I will try and get some stuff done. The only reason I have time to write this is cause I've finished my Physics Investigation early (seven weeks, three experiments, 3829 words and 23 pages!) and I'm hoping the teacher doesn't notice. Please bear with me; I've not given up on the story, I've not forgotten about it, it may just take a while. Consider the last few months to be an unofficial hiatus. Sorry

Hope this doesn't suck too much,

Chance x


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